Always Guarded
by aarrimas
Summary: Katie had always been quiet and shy. She had always been nervous and cautious. Maybe she wasn't meant to be a Gryffindor after all. Snippets into Katie Bell's life.


_**Disclaimer; anything that you recognise does not belong to me**_

 _ **Author's Note; For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, prompt is 'w**_ _ **rite about someone who has a very likeable disposition but is awkward or shy'**_

Katie was just four years old when she moved to the UK. She had long brown hair that was tied into pigtails and big brown eyes that were full of innocence and curiosity.

She could still remember the very day that they arrived. She could remember how cold it was and how she needed layer upon layer just to keep warm. She could remember the look on her brothers face as they landed on unfamiliar soil and she could remember the excitement captured in her younger sister's eyes. But most of all she remembered the feeling of nerves in her stomach at the idea of something new.

Her family was extremely rich and she had always lived a life of ease. A life she wasn't sure she was ready to let go of. Her mother, Irene Avgeropoulos, was the only living heir of a rich pureblood family that left her with tons of money that she could not possibly spend all by herself. Her father on the other hand, Dimitris Bell, was poor. He was a halfblood with no money to his name but plenty of ideas in his brain instead. He became a scientist and after meeting Irene, he promptly wooed her with his smarts and his wisdom, all of which she had never seen in a man before.

Soon they had these three beautiful children, a thriving business, a healthy marriage and it was all of these reasons that led to their decision to leave. But unfortunately, Katie was just too young to understand such serious matters like these.

She could only understand that she did not speak the language, that she could not read the signs and that she could not understand why on earth her parents would want to move to a cold dreary country like England when Greece was so nearby and so readily available.

But Katie knew better than to complain or to ask her parents why. So instead, she kept her mouth shut and stuffed her nerves or feelings deep down inside. Little did she know this would end up becoming a habit that she would spend years trying to get rid of.

Katie sighed, her shoulders slumping as she heard her friends bring up the same topic that they had been talking about for days now. The Yule Ball. Which Katie was still yet to find the perfect dress for, or the perfect date for that matter. Heck, she was starting to think that going stag might be the best bet; that no date at all was a better than having some random guy that you didn't even like take you dancing and drinking.

"Katie, have you figured out what you're going to wear yet?" Alicia asked.

Katie shook her head in response. To be honest she didn't really care what she was wearing or who she was going with. She didn't even really want to go at all. This ball was going to be _full_ of people, more people than she had ever been around in her life. She wasn't sure she was ready for that; she wasn't sure she would ever be.

Angelina rolled her eyes at Katie before leaning over and giving her shoulder a good shake. "You're being stupid Katie, just hurry up and go dress shopping. We all know you want to."

"As if," Katie snorted. "If anything we all know I _don't_ want to."

Leanne nodded her head in agreement, "This is true. But we all know that you'll have a good time once you finally get there. And this goes for both the shopping trips and the ball. Whether you end up going stag or not."

"Speaking of dates," Angelina piped up, forever the gossiper. "Who's going with who?" 

Leanne shrugged casually, "Me and Marietta are going together obviously. I mean it would kinda be weird if we didn't."

Mariette Edgecombe was a Ravenclaw in Leanne and Katie's year and Katie had never liked her very much. She was snobbish and overly confident and wasn't that much fun to talk to. But that didn't mean that she didn't like Marietta and Leanne together because even though she disliked Leanne with all of her heart, she really thought they made a good match. Not that she'd ever tell Leanne that.

Alicia nodded. "Me and Lee decided to go together. Just as friends though because there is no way in hell that _I_ would ever go there with Lee."

It wasn't long until Katie started to drift off again and her thoughts started to wander. She was not in the mood for dates or dresses or dances or anything else that provided uncomfortable experiences for her.

She just wanted it all to stop and for everyone to stop mentioning this stupid ball. She would later learn that you didn't always get what you want.

She shut her eyes tight and tried to ignore the blinding light that was coming through the open blinds. It was still only early and considering that it was a weekend, she didn't expect anyone to even be coherent. But alas, she was wrong. Because Leanne Jun, her best friend in the entire world, was obviously there to prove Katie wrong.

"Katie? Are you up?" 

Katie groaned in response, desperately rolling over in order to get a few more hours, or even minutes, of sleep.

Leanne rolled her eyes. Katie had always been dramatic and it didn't surprise her that she was reacting the way she was.

"Katie, it's time to get up. You have your interview in like an hour and if you don't get up now you're going to be late."

Moments passed without Katie even daring to make a move to get up for the day. All of last night she had spent researching play after play, just so that today would be perfect.

All Katie's life she had known that she wanted to be a Quidditch player. It was what she dreamed of. It was what she lived for. Leanne knew this, she knew how much this meant to Katie and she would give anything for Katie to get what she wanted.

Katie rolled over and pushed the blankets off of her. She stifled a yawn and stretched her arms high above her head. She walked over to the bathroom, her eyes full of sleep and her hair stuck to her forehead. But when she emerged; her hair was brushed, her face was clean and her clothes were immaculate. She was ready to ace this interview.

The Appleby Arrows had given her the opportunity to attend an interview and even though it wasn't a playing position, it was a managing job but considering that her dreams of even being near a broom or a pitch had been shattered long ago, she considered this a win.

She arrived there early but not by much. She still looked appropriate but perhaps not as much as she did when she first left the house. She looked around a few times, looking for the manager of the team or even the coach, just anyone that could help her find her way.

After her search coming up empty she took a seat in the nearly empty lobby and shut her eyes. Her mind started to wander; to thoughts about what could be and what might be. It wasn't long till her thoughts started to disappear and everything just started to drift away.

She was jolted awake by a rather rough shake. Her eyes jerked open and she was greeted by an unfamiliar face. It was a woman, not much older than Katie, with hazel eyes that contrasted with her dark skin. She was beautiful and it took all of Katie's self-control not to stare.

"Hi, are you Ms Katina Bell?"

Katie nodded slowly, "Uh yeah. But most people just call me Katie."

"Okay then. Do you want to come in and start the interview now?"

Katie's eyes went wide. Crap. She had completely and utterly forgotten about the interview. The interview that her future completely and utterly depended on. She took a deep breath and scrunched up her face before nodding. She just hoped this didn't influence their decision.

As she walked in, her heart stopped. There were a lot of people in the room; like a lot. It wasn't just the manager or the coach, it was the whole managing and coaching team. Her heart, which just five seconds ago had stopped beating all together, was starting to beat faster than it ever had before. Her palms had started to sweat and her lips started to go dry and her chest started to tighten. Everything just started to get too much.

Katie had never been a people person. All her life she had hated crowds and any other large group of people. She had always found it to be full of judgement and full of gossiping and all other kinds of annoying teenage behaviour. It was one of the main reasons her Gryffindor placement had always confused her. Don't get her wrong, she loved Gryffindor with all her heart and the friends she had made while in that house turned out to be her best friends in the whole world, but that didn't make her any less confused.

She sat on the only empty chair left in the room and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She looked around at all the unfamiliar faces. The majority of them were old men with greying beards and wise eyes and the few exceptions were still _way_ older than Katie was.

She bounced her knee up and down as they asked questions. Questions about her past work history, her Quidditch past, how she got her injuries. She answered all of them as confidently as she could but that didn't mean the tight feeling in her chest disappeared or that her hands stopped trembling.

Soon though it was all over. Soon all she had to do was wait for an owl, an owl that either confirmed her dreams or crushed them to the ground. She just hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

She stood up, thanked them for considering her for the position and walked out. She walked faster than she had ever walked in her life. She ignored the sharp shoots of pain that came through her leg and ignored the stares of the people as she walked past. She just wanted to get home.


End file.
